I am in the throes of trying to decide what kind of car is best for me. I have a few options I am trying to weigh and in (2) pretty different states of modifications. As a backstory, whatever car I buy will be primarily a DD with a ~4 mile 45mph speed limit commute. Even if I were to change jobs, I am looking at a 10 mile highway drive.

- A couple of cars I have seen fall into the exhaust, tune, suspension category (maybe 420whp)

- 2 other cars I am looking at have 24/20g turbos and all supporting mods (~630whp).

I generally tend to modify my cars and love the feel of big boost...just haven't ever dealt with it on a DD and the accompanying headaches it might bring. Is a 2002 with a 24/20 kit likely to grenade the transmission?

Will I likely get bored of a DD with just a tune and exhaust or is that the smart play for a car that needs to be a reliable DD?

If I buy the 24/20 cars, I am saving a minimum of $30k in modifications down the road...I just don't know how reliable those cars will be. I know this sounds just like a stream of consciousness but any help you guys can provide would be awesome.

Jack

 

A lot of the dependability regarding the 20g cars, or any high hp car, is going to be related to how well the install was performed. The person skills who tuned it. And finally how the car was driven and maintained. IMO how friendly of a dd it may be depends a lot on what kind of clutch it has. It sounds like you're a lot like me. If you think you're going to mod the car down the road you may as well save yourself a fortune and buy one already modded. If I had it to do over again I would have bought one already modded. Good luck

 

You will get bored of a car with only tune and exhaust. When I bought mine I vowed thag I would leave it the way it was which was around 430 whp with a tune and exhaust. Once you see how well they respond to mods its impossible not to mod it.

Also, simple upgrades/bolt ons to even alpha 28/30 will cost you no where near 30k. I say buy a unmolested car and do the mods yourself or by a trusted mechanic that way you know it's done correctly. I've seen soooo many botched installs on these cars resulting in headaches.

 

Buy one modded! I have 50k+ in upgrade receipts for my car! Saved myself a small fortune! Plus mine has been dead reliable looking through all my records! Only thing that needed replaced was the upgraded torque converter and was done by GMG under warranty! (my car is a Tip)

 

How much power are you making with those mods?

 

Thanks for chiming in guys. I have pretty good history on both modded cars, the one I am heavily leaning toward of the modded cars was serviced and built by reputable shops (board members). Both have EPL tunes.

I hear you. Funny side note, I remember moving into my freshman dorm (2003) and seeing a picture of your Avus M3 parked back-to-back with Corey's white LTW-replica M3 on the Rutgers campus. My M3 was mostly stock at the time, but that picture remained as my wallpaper for a good few months. I've since had quite a few cars and some making big power (E36 pushing 540whp)...but my N/A M3 will forever be in the garage.



I know how these things tend to spiral. I figure by buying a stock car, there would be upwards of $15-$18k in parts alone in going to one of those kits including exhaust, fpr, turbos, tune, intake pipes, clutch, intercoolers, etc. not to mention labor if I am not doing to the work myself. That's probably in the low $20s and I'm sure there would be some other "while I was in there" things as well. Maybe not $30...but also not money you would ever recoup in any meaningful way on resale.

 

Hey man,

I would get something in between (16gs etc) because it has a better chance of not being beat to hell and probably will keep you entertained for a bit until you decide if you want to pick up. A lot of guys would do 16g's on a DD or if they're just playing with power. If you go full out giant turbos, there is almost a guarantee that the car was pushed really hard quite often. You don't do 16k+ in mods to sit on it.

It'll cost you more in the long term to do the upgrade yourself, but that way you'll know you're not buying a potetnial headache. I always remember reading the thread about that guy who bought some heavily modded car and then blew the engine 50 miles later.

For the record, I think tune from the exhaust would keep you plenty entertained for at least a year especially with your short commute.

 

I would decide on what type of fuel you're going to run first. 20gs like 100+ octane to really strut their stuff.

 

All good things to think about. Thanks for the post!
Thanks Henry. The car would be 99% on 93 octane with maybe 1 fill up per year of 110...

From reading opinions on the 24/20g, it seems they respond in a similar fashion to 18gs on pump fuel and really wake up on 110. If they don't sacrifice anything to the 18g on pump fuel (lag, or low end TQ), they sound like the perfect "hybrid" turbo as when you want 110, they will shine...when you fill with 93 they are the nearly the same as an 18g.....no?

 

I've been told many times that for the 20gs to respond similar to the 18gs (on pump) you need a full protostyle intake with the new MAF and ypipe and all that. Probably an extra 5k expense. If you left the stock style ypipe in place, I don't think the 20gs would response as quickly as the 18gs. (just physics)